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Calendar No., 1045. 



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57th Congress, ) SENATE. J Report 

1st Session. \ 1 No. 1086. 



HALL OF RECORDS, WASHINGTON, D. C. 



April 10, 1902. — Ordered to be printed. 



Mr. Fairbanks, from the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds, 
submitted the following 

REPORT. 

[To accompany S. 5113.] 

The Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds, to whom was 
referred the bill (S. 5113) to provide for the purchase of a site and the 
erection of a public building thereon, to be used for a hall of records, 
having carefully considered the same, report it back without amend- 
ment and recommend that the bill do pass. 

The necessity for the erection of a suitable hall of records has long 
been recognized. Many efforts have been made to provide for the 
construction of a building in which could be safely stored and pre- 
served the valuable records of the Government. Man}' of these records 
are now, and for a long time have been, in serious peril. The destruc- 
tion of many of them has been seriously threatened at various times. 
Their loss would be almost an irreparable one to the Government. 
Your committee believe that the erection of a hall of records should 
begin at an early date, and the many departments which are now used 
for storage room, to the manifest embarrassment of the public busi- 
ness, should be relieved, and the records and documents stored therein 
and worthy of preservation should find a permanent place in a building 
erected for the specific purpose of accommodating them. 

The subject is one which has been pressed upon the attention of 
Congress for nearly a quarter of a century. The necessity for such a 
building has increased during the past few years, and in the very 
nature of the case must continue to rapidly increase hereafter. 

Your committee append hereto a letter from the Secretary of the 
Treasury under date of March 3, 1902, showing the imperative neces- 
sity for the construction of the building contemplated, and the many 
and inefiectual attempts that have been made to secure authority for 
its construction. 



.>.i, HALL OF RECOKDS, WASHINGTON, D. 0. 



r zo^ 



Senate Document No. 236, Fifty-seventh Congress, first session. 



LETTER 



THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY, 



THE NECESSITY FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF A HALL, OF 
RECORDS IN THE CITY OF WASHINGTON, D. C. 



March 5, 1902. — Ordered to be printed. 



Treasury Department, 

Office of the Secretary, 

Washington, March 3, 1902. 

Sir: 1 have the honor to submit the following statement in amplifi- 
cation of that paragraph of the Annual Report of the Secretary'' of the 
Treasury, 1901, page 34, relating to the urgent necessity for construct- 
ing a Hall of Records in this city: 

It seems proper at the outset to remark upon the extreme importance 
of this matter as exhibited by the persistence with which it has com- 
y)clled the attention of the committees of Congress and officers of the 
Executive Departments during many years, and to notice the consen- 
sus of opinion as to the imperative demand for providing safe-keeping 
for the invaluable records of the Government. 

This proposed structure first appears under the title "Hall of 
Records" in the Aniuial Report of the Secretary of War (Ex. Doc, 
1H78-7!>, vol. 2) in which the Secretary emphasizes the hazardous sit- 
uation of records of great value m the Quarteriuaster-General's Office, 
such records containing the original proof in clainjs against the United 
States to the amount of many millions of doll-.irs. 

This action seems to have l^een prompted by the alarm created b}'^ the 
losses which iiad lately occurred b}-^ fire at the Patent Office and Interior 
Department. It does not, however, appear that the matter was con- 
sidered by any committee of Congress until March 16, 1882, when the 
House Conunittee on ]/TrHHr--Btii 4 4i ngs -tw4-Gj-Qiujii-v.i:eported: 

Tliat the neces.'^ity for t ic iTcrntm nl a t^iiWMMl?^Mf bii Idiiisj for the safe- 
keeping of the records aiK odicial paiK'ril"Ktnr/&'>.v,.v('nvl depar men t^s, which have 
lioen a(!ciunidated since tli ■ formation '^f tlic (iovejujuient, has k ivj; been apj>arent to 
anyone wlio luiH given an\ coiisideriftifcOo^ie si]92<0 At pn sent, papers whose 



HALL OF KECOEDS, WASHINGTON, D. C. j , ' i 3 

value can not be estimated and which can not be replaced, involving large sums of 
money to the Government, are stored away in the different departments, some of 
them in rented buildings not fireproof and liable at any moment to be destroyed by 
fire. 

The bill upon which this report was made did not pass, but the 
sundry civil bill, approved August 7, 1882, contained the following: 

That the Supervising Architect of the Treasury be, and he is, required to mabe a 
report through the Secretary of the Treasury to the next session of Congress, first, as 
to a suitable plat of ground belonging to the United States upon which a suitable 
fireproof building can be erected, to be built of brick, to be used for the safe-keeping 
of records of the executive, legislative, and judicial departments, whicn are not 
required for constant reference; second, the probable cost of such building, with 
plans and specifications for same. 

On January IT, 1883, the Supervising Architect reported somewhat 
in detail upon a site, plans, and specifications for the building, but it 
does not appear that Congress took any action on the report. 

On December 19, 1883, President Arthur transmitted to Congress a 
letter from the Secretary of War stating the necessity for the con- 
struction of a fireproof building for the storage of public records. 
The recommendations of former years were urgently renewed. 

In 1886 the Treasury Department again took up the subject, and in 
March of that year the Supervising Architect recommended the con- 
struction of a building for the safe-keeping of records, reviewed the 
efforts already made, and adds: 

As to the advisability of constructing this building so as to accommodate the 
offices named, I have to report that it would be both wise and economical. iTi both 
my annual reports the attention of Congress has been called to the necessity for such 
a building. The losses which the Government has already sustained by fire, lead 
me to call especial attention to the necessity for a fireproof building forthe files of 
the Executive Departments. 

During a period of nearly ten 3^ears following this recommendation, 
nothing appears to have been done, either in Congress or in the 
Executive Departments, looking to the building of a Hall of Records. 

March 31, 1891:, the House Committee on Public Buildings and 
Grounds reported: 

Your committee fully concur with the Senate that a Hall of Records is one of the 
present pressing needs of the Government here at the capital. Very large accumu- 
lations of records of great value are now stored in insecure buildings liable to destruc- 
tion by fire or to damage or loss from other causes. 

If through any accident these records should be destroyed their reproduction 
would be impossible, and great inconvenience and much embarrassment would result 
to the several departments of the Government thereby. In most instances these 
records pertain to questions of great importance and value, and they have been 
steadily accumulating since the organization of the Government, and they must be 
preserved for future reference. They are in such quantity as to require a great deal 
of space, and are of course constantly increasing in volume. Those which are not 
placed on storage in unsafe outside buildings are occupying highly valuable space in 
the various departments, which is badly needed for the transaction of current 
business. 

In some instances department buildings have become dangerously overweighted 
with these accumulated records, and the heads of departments have found it neces- 
sary for safety to remove the files into other buildings. These records all together 
are now occupying a vast quantity of space in the department buildings, and it is 
believed that the transfer of all of them not required for daily use to a building con- 
structed for the purpose would greatly facilitate the transaction of the public business. 

Nothing definite was accomplished by the consideration given to the 
bill upon which this report was made. 



4 J ] ' HALL OF RECORDS, WASHINGTON, D. C. 

In April, 1896, the Secretary of the Treasury addressed letters to the 
Committees on Public Building-s and Grounds of both Houses referring 
to the l)ill for the construction of a Hall of Records then under con- 
sideration, and says: 

I have the honor to state in behalf of this Department that the necessity for sncTi 
a building can not be too strongly urged. The files rooms in this building are as a 
rule overcrowded, and have been for a number of years past, and to relieve them 
some of the papers and documents to which reference is rarely made were transferred 
to and placed in the l)asement ground floor of the AVinder Building, where they are 
packed in a solid mass, which makes them inaccessible for reference without great 
labor, and where they are exposed more or less to dampness, which must in time 
destroy their usefulness. 

The papers and documents were not transferred to the Winder Building until every 
expedient was resorted to to relieve this building from its overcrowded condition. 
Three of the corridors in the attic are shelved and filled with files and papers so 
exposed that evil-disposed persons can tamper with them. Within the last year a 
large number of vouchers were abstracted by one of the laborers of the Department 
for the internal-revenue stamps which they liore, and the vouchers subsequently 
destroyed by him. Other portions of the building are so crowded and the files so 
located as to be almost inaccessi))le in case of fire, and the destruction which might 
ari.se from such an outbreak would be irreparable, and vast interests of the Govern- 
ment placed in jeopardy. 

In his annual report for 1897 the Secretary of the Treasury stated 
that the needs for such a building were imperative and that nothing 
had since developed to modify or change the conditions as stated in 
the letter above quoted. 

March 22, 1S9S, the Assistant Secretary of the Treasur}^ referring 
to a statenumt pu])lished in the Evening Star of same date, saj^s: 

A committee of the Treasury has recently been reassigning the rooms in the Treas- 
ury l)ui!ding, and as its work has progressed the necessity for file room has become 
more and more apparent. The Treasury Department, by reason of a want of proper 
space for its employees, has been compelled to store tons of valuable records in places 
that are not only inconvenient, but to a certain degree insecure. In the basement, 
down un<ler the east portico, are stored the accumulations of years. It is necessary 
to use in these places artificial lights at all times, and notwithstanding every pre- 
caution and care to guard against fires, there is always more or less danger.' The 
files rooms of the garret &re not less unsuitable for the uses to which they are being 
put at this time. 

It will be of great advantage to the Treasury Department to have its records not in 
daily use stored safely in such a building as has long been contemplated for a Hall of 
Records. 

The following extract is n\ade from the Annual Report of the Secre- 
tary of the Treasur}^ for 1899: 

The earnest consideration of Congress is again invited to the necessity for provid- 
ing a Hall of Records in this city in which tlie uncurrent files of the various Execu- 
tive Dejiartments and other branches of the Ciovernment may be stored. 

This matter ha.s been the subject of agitation for many years past, but with no 
pra<-.ti<-al results. The growth of the Government's busiiiess is so rapid, and the 
accumulation of the files so great as a consequence, that all of the Executive Deparl- 
ments are cramped for room in which to store the files which by law must be pre- 
served. The destruction by fire of any one of the Executive Departments would 
cause almost irrei)arable injury, confusion, and delay in the transaction of its busi- 
news, and this is esj)ecially true of the Treasury. This Dei)artment is the great clear- 
ing house of the Government. Here all its debts are paid, and here are preserved 
the evidences of such payment. The files stored in this building are in such condi- 
tion that a fire may ensue at any time, and in the event of their destruction number- 
less claims against the (Government would at once arise to embarrass it. 

Ill the Secretary's opinion, there is no pul)lic improvement more needed for the 
wellaif ot the nation than a Hall of Records in this city, and the matter is presented 
lor the careful consideration of Congre..«^s, witii the hop'e that action will be taken at 
this session looking to the erection of such building. 






HALL OF RECORDS, WASHINGTON, D, C. X'yJ 5 

The above passage is repeated in the annual report of the Secretary 
of the Treasury, 1900, with the remark: 

The attention of Congress has been repeatedly called to the necessity for provid- 
ing a Hall of Records in this city in which uncurrent files of the various Executive 
Departments and other branches of the Government may be stored. The Secretary 
would be remiss in duty if he did not present the matter again for the consideration 
of Congress. 

In addition to the above, this Department has, from time to time, 
from Januar}' 7, 1897, to January 25, 1902, reported to the committees 
of Congress upon bills looking to the purchase of a site for the hall of 
records, to which no further reference is now necessary, except to 
remark that in almost all cases the Department has been constrained 
to report the site suggested insufficient in size for the accommodation 
of a building of sufficient capacity for the purpose desired. 

It seems impossible to state with greater emphasis or with greater 
weight of authorit}^ than appears in the above quotations the reason- 
able appeal that is made for a suitable structure for housing the records 
of the Government. As a question of comparative economy the case 
is equally free from doubt. To say nothing of the question of safety, 
which involves a multitude of important interests, both public and 
private, the present method of storage is extravagant in waste of space 
in the costly public buildings, which should be otherwise used, in 
expenses for rented buildings, and in the cost of handling and of access 
to the files for reference. 

THE BUILDING. 

In the sundry civil bill approved June 11, 1896, the Secretary of 
the Treasury, in connection with a report upon a site at the intersec- 
tion of Ohio and Indiana avenues with Tenth and Twelfth streets, 
was directed also to submit a plan giving the size and general charac- 
teristics of a building to be used for a Hall of Records, and also before 
making his report to consult with the heads of the other departments 
and the proper officers of the Senate and House of Representatives. 

In response to this provision of law the Secretary of the Treasury 
(Mr. Carlisle), January 7, 1897, made a partial report, with the state- 
ment that he was awaiting further communications from other depart- 
ments, and was not prepared to make a final report upon the subject 
at that time. 

January 14, 1898, the Secretary of the Treasury (Mr. Gage) made a 
further report upon the plan and dimensions of the building required 
(House Doc. 226, Fifty-fifth Congress, second session), as follows: 

From information obtained upon consultation with the heads of the other depart- 
ments and the proper officers of the Senate and House of Representatives, it appears 
that a building proportioned to the present requirements, with provision for increase 
for a moderate period, should have a capacity of approximately 4,000,000 cubic feet. 

The Secretary also submitted two designs, one for a building nine 
stories in height adapted to the site upon which a report had been 
requested; the other for a building of more suitable proportions 
adapted to a site of proper dimensions. Referring to the latter, he says: 

Design B shows a building 400 by 70 feet having four stories, fireproof construction, 
and estimated to cost $450,000. It will be observed that the capacity of this design, 
approximately 1,000,000 cubic feet, is considerably less than what will ultimately 1)6 
required, as provided by Design A. De.sign B, however, offers this advantage: The 
building is capable of extension, as indicated on the plan, without impairing its 



6 ^ >.-' HALL OF RECORDS, WASHINGTON, D. C. 

architectural appearance, to the approximate capacity of 4,000,000 cubic feet. Ti 
portion of the building shown will, when completed, relieve the present congestcu ^ 
condition of files storage, and extension could be made at some future time and ulti- 
mately complete the quadrangle. 

The statonients received from the departments and other officers 
appear in a condensed and tabular form, hereto attached, together with 
a cop\' of Plan B. 

In a hHter addressed by the Secretary of the Treasury to the chair- 
man of the Senate Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds, April 
20, 1900, reporting-, at the request of the committee, upon S. 2247, the 
following language is used: 

The Department is of the opinion that it is desirable to acquire, looking to the con- 
struction of a building which, when completed, will have a capacity of 4,000,000 
cul)ic foot, a rectangular block of not less, approximately, than 350 feet square. 

It will be observed that a building of 4,000,000 cubic feet is one of great magnitude, 
and the Department is of the opinion that a site ample in size should be provided for 
it. On such a site a building could advantageously be planned, so that a portion of' 
it, say 2,000,000 cubic feet, could first be erected wuth a view to attaining the full 
capacity by future extensions, and it is obvious that the architectural appearance, as 
well asthe utility of such a building, would be promoted by separating it from the 
streets and contiguous buildings by reasonably ample spaces. In this connection 
reference is made to the remarks of the undersigned upon Design B, in Document j 
226, hereinbefore referred to. 

On a site of limited area it will be necessary to make the ground floor coextensive !1 
with the site, and therefore there will be no way by which the capacity of the 
building can be increased except by imposing upon it additional stories, a work 
extremely difficult, if not impracticable, of execution after the lower stories ha\ ■ 
been occupied for the storage of records. 

In a letter dated May 5, 1900, addressed by the Supervising Archi- 
tect to the Secretary of the Treasury in response to a request for a 
report on certain sites for the Hall of Records, one of which was power 
house square. No. 255, is found the following passage: 

For the a;pproximate quantity of Government files now on hand to be moved into 
the proposed Hall of Records reference is respectfully made to the attached schedule 
of rejiorts made by the several departments to the Secretary of the Treasury in 
August, 189(). It will be observed tliat all the departments submitted an estimate of 
future requirements, but the details of present requirements were not in all cases 
given. It is not known that the statements of future requirements were madetn 
cover a period of twenty-five years, but it is believed that they cover a reasonalih 
provision for the future. 

The approximate cost of building on the power-house site, including E street and 
a fjortion of the reservation, is estimated: 

For site $500, 00( i 

For building 2, 500, 0( " i 

For pile foundation 25, Ooo 

Total 3, 025, OOd 

The building to have a gross capacity of about 5, 000, 000 cubic feet, including halls, 
corridors, light shafts, etc. 

In a letter dated May 7, 1900. addressed to the Secretary of thr 
Trc-isury by the Supervising An-hitect, in response to a request for a 
statenient as to the suitable dimensions for a site for the proposed 
Hall of Records, the following language is used: 

Assuming tliat the building should have a capacity of 5,000,000 cubic feet to provide 
for a reasonaiiie future period, (he structure would be of about the size of the Wash- 
ington post-oilice. Frecled like tiie post-oliice on a city block of average size the 
building woul<l iiave tf) be seven or eight stories higli, and the entire buikling would 
liave to be built at one time, as it would be hardly practicable to erect at first enou<'h 
for present needs and afterwards meet future deuiands by adding upper stories to an 
occupied building. 



HALL OF EECORDS, WASHINGTON, D. 0. A 



•7>^ 



The advantages of an ample ground plan are very great, first aa to architectural 
[ appearance, but mainly for wholly practical reasons. On an ample site the build- 
ing could be made, say, of four stories; a portion of it sufficient for present needs could 
be built at first and the remainder added from time to time by extending the build- 
, ing on the ground as necessity should demand. 

Appreciating the importance of making a right beginning in a 
matter of such magnitude, the Department has given very careful 
consideration to the proper size of the building. It will be observed 
that the estimate of about 4,000,000 cubic feet, made January 14, 
1898, was based upon the tabular statement (copy attached) received 
in reply to the request of the Secretarv of the Treasurj^ dated August 
25, 1896, and was increased to 5,000,000 cubic feet May 5, 1900. The 
events of the year 1898 had already begun to exhibit a marked effect 
upon the growth of the files, which indicated that there was more 
probabilit}' of underestimating than of overestimating the space 
required in the Hall of Records. 

The figures from other departments and Congress are not in my 
possession, but it is possible to state the increase in the files of this 
Department. Since 1896 it has proved necessary to rent two build- 
ings for the storage of records, containing a space of 225,000 cubic 
feet, which is now practicall}^ filled, and yet the Treasury building is 
still as crowded with files as it was in 189G, at which time 228,000 cubic 
feet were occupied by files, so it is clear that the records have almost 
I precisely doubled in bulk in six j^ears. 

i' The chief clerk of this Department, in a report dated November 12, 
1901, says: 
Two rented buildings are now nearly filled to their utmost capacity, and we are 
again compelled to put valuable records in the corridors on the attic floor. 

I It has been said that the Department is without data as to the growth 
j of the files of the other departments, and several of the departments 
have not stated in their response to Secretary Carlisle's request the 
j cubic feet of space which was used by them at that date for files, 
i although the}" gave an opinion as to future requirements. 
I It is impossible, therefore, to generalize from the figures of the tab- 
ular statement hereto attached, except in the case of the Treasury 
j Department. It is believed, however, that conditions in the other 
I departments do not differ materially from those in this Department. 
I It is even probable that the files of the War, Nav}^ and State depart- 
I ments and of the two Houses of Congress have increased more rapidly 
j than those of the Treasury. 

A building of 5,000,000"cubic feet will be about two-thirds the capac- 
ity of the Treasury building, and it should be a satisfactory reph" to 
, any criticism of the dimensions recommended that the building may be 
j undertaken in sections, by constructing on one or more sides of a quad- 
I rangle at one time, and completing the structure as Congress ma}" be 
pleased to make successive appropriations; provided alwa3"s, that the 
site be of sufficient size and the plan judiciousl}^ arranged, as hereinbe- 
fore indicated. 
To complete this statement it remains only to repeat the recommen- 
I dation which has frequently been made by this Department, that the 
site selected for this building should be a block of 350 feet on each 
side, or of dimensions approximate!}' equal thereto. 

The safe-keeping of the records is a matter which, of course, comes 
especially home to the officers responsible for their care, who see them 



8 



! 



-My 



HALL OF KECORDS, WASHINGTON, D. C. 



daily exposed to loss, decay, and all the accidents which at any moment 
may destroy thom in whole or in part. Their real value will not be 
appreciated, perhaps, until some casualty has put them beyond recov- 
ery. There seems never to have been a dissenting- opinion with the 
coiuniittees of Congress or officers as to the necessity for action, as 
the number of bills offered and reports called for by Congress amply 
prove. 

It is understood how the great pressure of business and the vast 
multitude of affairs which demand attention have caused delaj^s, but 
the growth of the tiles is an inexorable fact. It must continue during 
the time spent in securing a site and during the two or three years 
occupied in so far constructing the building that it can be occupied, 
and I nuist most earnestly recommend to your committee not to allow 
the present session to terminate without setting this project on foot, 
at least so far as by authorizing the purchase of a site for the Hall of 
Records at the seat of Government. 

Respectfully, L. M. Shaw, 

Sec?'efary. 
Chairman Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds, 

United States Senate. 



HALL OF RECORDS. 



Capacity required in cubic feet as reported by the several departments to the Secretary of the 
Treasury, in response to his letter of Augmt 25, 1896. 



Present requirements. 



Case. 



Room. 



Future requirements. 



Case. 



Room. 



Trca.sury Department 

Intcriiir Department 

n<)u>-c of Heprcientatives... 

Wiir l)cpnrtnH;nt 

Navy iiepartmunt 

Fost-Drtice Department 

8tate Department 

J)L-iiarlment of Agriculture . 

Itipartment of Justice 

Senate 



Total 

20 per cent additional for walls, etc. 

Gross capacity 



Cubic feet. 

122, 500 

109, 050 

7,500 

40,000 



Cubic feet. 
228, 000 
530, 500 
299, 260 



Cubicfeet. 

358, 500 

180, 300 

16, 000 

156, 000 



4, 87.'i 
10,650 



76,000 
45,000 
19, 750 



Cubicfeet. 

1,312,000 

1,051,000 

330,000 

312,000 

225,000 

162, 000 

90,000 

40,000 

40,000 

30,000 



3, 582, 000 
718, 000 



4, 300, 000 



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